Otto j



(No Model.)

G. NERAOI-IE'R, Deod. O. J. FREY, Administrator. SPRINKLER.

No. 571,012. Patented Nov. 10, 1896.

in? n 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES NERACHER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO; OTTO J. FREY ADMINISTRATOR OF SAIDNERACHER, DECEASED.

SPRINKLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 571,012, dated November10, 1896.

Application filed February 23, 1894. Serial No. 501,245. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES NERAOHER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sprinklers,of

which the following is a specification;

It is the object of my invention to provide a sprinkler for use infire-extinguishing systems in which the valve will be more firmly seatedthe greater the pressure of the water thereon tending to open it, saidvalve being hollow to receive the water-pressure, formed of one piecewith both its upper and lower walls flexible, by which the internalpressure of the water will tend to spring outwardly the walls, and thusforce the valve into firm contact with its seat in proportion to thepressure, in order to prevent leakage.

My invention includes a special form of expansible valve and a specialform of truss, all as hereinafter fully described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical section through thesprinkler; Fig. 2, a view a quarter-turn from that of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3is a plan view. Figs. 4. and 5 show details.

In the drawings the base of the sprinkler A is provided with thethreaded nipple for attachment to the water-supply pipe, and it has alateral flange 1 and a central portion 2, forming with the lateralflangea shoulder 4. About the central opening 5 for the water a depressedannular valve-seat 6 is provided in the solid central part, and intothis the flange 7 of the valve 8 fits and finds a solid bearing. Thisseat is preferably formed of a ring of soft metal adapted to provide aslightly yielding bearing for the valve mouth or flange, in order to geta water-tight joint.

. The valve is formed hollow, the body portion 8 extending laterally andannularly about the flange or mouth and comprising upper and lowerpreferably'parallel walls 9 of thin metal connected at their edges bythe integral side 11. This side is slightly thicker than the upper andlower walls, and may be slightly rounded or rounded at the corners. 'Thevalve has also a boss 12 on its outer side provided with a kerf 13 toreceive the lower end of the strut 14. The whole valve, with its upperand lower walls, its side, its mouth or flange, is formed of one piece,and, the upper and lower walls being thin, they are both adapted toyield under the pressure of the water, and as the outer or lower wallcannot move outwardly, owing to the resistance offered by the unyieldingstrut engaging therewith, the whole yielding eifect is given ortransmitted to the valve in the direction of its seat, thus forcing theflange or mouth into firm contact with its seat to make a perfectlywater-tight joint.

The flange or mouth of the valve is the only point of contact with thevalve-seat; and as the main body of the valve extends laterally aboutthis central mouth and has no bearing whatever on the valve-seat or uponany part of the frame, and, further, as this entire body portion isyielding, it will be clear that the maximum spring effect will besecured. The bearing of the strut with the valve, it will be noticed, isalso central, and this adds to the effect above described, as the mainbody portion of the valve is left free.

It may be noted also that the mouth or flange, extending as it doesabout the waterpassages of the sprinkler, allows the water to enter thevalve freely and the pressure to have full force. The thicker sides ofhollow valve serve to prevent the valve from buckling or getting out ofshape under great pressure. The frame for holding the distributercomprises the arms 16, having an internallythreaded ring 17, engagingcorresponding threads around the shouldered portion of thesprinkler-base, said ring fitting against the lateral flanges of saidbase. The arms 16 are opposite each other, and are connected by anintegral cross-piece 17 X at their ends having a boss 18, to which thedistributer 19 is attached. The distributer consists of a disk having acentral boss 21 with grooves around its sides and a kerf 22 in its topfor the end of the strut. The disk is slightly dish-shaped and hasnumerous radial slots extending from its outer edge to near the centralboss of the arms, and these form a series of wings or fingers 25. Thearms 16 are flat-sided and are arranged with their narrow edges towardthe distributer, and their longer major axis extending substantiallyradial from the center of the distributer.

The slots of the distributor are so arranged that those nearest the armswill discharge the water along the sides of said arms without strikingthem, that is to say, one of the fingers or wings between the slots isin the same plane with the long dimension of the arms, and the arms thuslie between the sprays or streams of water passing from the distributorwithout offering any obstruction whatever to the uniform distribution.By this arrangement the water striking the dish-shaped distributer willbe thrown laterally, and some of the water will pass directly throughthe slots and thus serve to distribute the water vertically above andbelow the sprinkler.

The strut consists simply of two lever-arms 25 26, the former or upperpart having the projection 27 to engage the central boss on thedistributor and the latter or lower part having the edge 28 to engagethe boss on the valve. The part 25 has the hook-bearings 26 to engagethe lateral lugs or cars 27 on the lever 26, the main portion 28 of thelever 26 passing up betwen the hooks, to lie against the face of thelever 25. These leverpartshave conical openings 29,fiaring outwardly inopposite directions, and in these the holding solder is placed,whichforms a double rivet adapted to hold the parts firmly together,said solder also lying between the contiguous faces of the arms. Thehooks and ears form a pivotal connection between the lever parts and thearrangement is such that when in normal position the lever part 26 willextend at an angle to the part 25, and it is necessary to apply pressurein order to spring thelevers into contact. The solder rivet is thenapplied and the lever-arms forming the strut are thus held undertension, and when the solder melts they spring out of contact with eachother and thus release the valve.

The lever-arms are of such length that they cannot be placed in positionbetween the valve and the distributor excepting by swinging 'the armsapart slightly 011 their pivotal connection, and when the lever-arms arepressed together or straightened the valve is placed under strongtension and is forced firmly on its seat.

The kerfs in the distributer and valve are in the same vertical plane,whereas the leverarms must extend slightly in inclined position from thevalve to the distributer. This brings the pivotal point between thelever-arms slightly to one side of the vertical plane of the points ofcontact with the lever and distributer, so that even though thelever-arms are not sprung into contact, as above described, the pressurefrom the spring-valve will cause their release when the solder melts.

By my special valve the solder-joint is protected from the water untilthe parts are fully released, this being a material advantage andpreventing the partially-melted solder from hardening by reason ofcontact with the water, as is sometimes the case in some sprinklers whenthe valve begins to open.

In order that the sprinkler may be readily removed,I have providednotches 30 in the side of its base portion and a reduced neck portion 31on the nipple. To this a special form of wrench is adapted having prongsto straddle the neck and a prong or spur to en gage the notch in theside of the base. By this wrench the sprinkler can be turned readily andremoved and the Wrench will be held firmly by the sprinkler in case theworkman for any reason should desire it to remain in contact while someother work is being performed.

In forming the valve, in order to secure the expansion effect in thehighest degree and at the same time produce a durable valve, I form saidvalve from rolled metal, taking a cylindrical bar or piece and coringout the interior to form the shell and at the same time shaping theexterior The Valve is thus made entirely without joints or solderedseams, and this is of material advantage in a valve designed to beexpansible and in which the walls have movement, as were the wallsformed separately and joined at their edges there would be liability ofthe joint cracking or working loose under the great pressure thesevalves must stand.

In Figs. 4: and 5 my preferred form of strut is shown. This is designedto secure a double effect. It has the parts 25 26, having the shoulders27 engaged by the hooked fingers 26. In this case the part 26 is bent soas to throw the contact-point between fingers 26 and 27 more out of linethan in the former case, and in addition to this the part 25 has areduced upper end at 60, forming shoulders 61, over which fit thefingers 62 of the locking-key 63, and these fingers are held by hooks(34 on the upper end of the part 26. The key fits down along the face ofthe part 25, which thus lies between the key and the part 26, and thesethree parts are held together by solder in the conical openings 64 inthe key and part 26. By this construction each of the parts 25 26 has atendency to spring aside the moment the solder holding them is melted,thus rendering the strut more sensitive.

I claim 1. A sprinkler comprising a Valve-seat, the hollow expansiblevalve having upper and lower flexible walls and a flanged mouth in oneflexible wall engaging the valve-seat and of the full diameter thereofand a bearing on' gaging each other at their lower ends, the Intestimony whereof I affix my signature part 25 having the shoulders 61at its upper in presence of two Witnesses. part and the part 26 thehooks 64, and the key having fingers 62 fitting over the shoul- CHARLESNERAQHER' 5 ders 61 and held by the hooks 64:, said parts itnesses:

being soldered together, substantially as de- HENRY E. COOPER, scribed.WALTER DONALDSON.

